Thursday, July 24, 2008

Complications - - but doing OK

I am still in the hospital, the 2-3 day stay is now looking like an 8 day stay.

I am doing well, just had some problems the day after the fusion. I developed some right leg numbness, my back has only ever affected the left leg, never the right.

My foot started to feel wooden, all the way down from my mid-back to my big toe.

I spent Tuesday night getting a CT scan and MRI done. Wednesday morning it was decided that they needed to open me back up and do a wound exploration and debridement (is that the right word??) Anyway, 48 hours after the fusion I was back in the OR.

The Dr. removed some tissue from the spinal canal, there was edema and swelling. I had lost a lot of blood from the drain and my hematicrit was at 26 (normal is 40 and above), So I ended up having to get 2 units of blood during the 2 hour surgery. The Dr. also removed all the BMP (Bone growth hormone) from the fusion. While none of these things could be directly linked to the numbness, I get the feeling that the Dr. thinks I was having an allergic reaction to the hormone.

I feel good about the surgery, I got lots of anti-nausea meds before the pain meds could make me too sick. The right leg is still very numb, but the numbness has stopped spreading.

Also, and this is awesome - it is the RIGHT leg that is numb - the bad ankle! It couldn't have been better if it had been planned. To not be limping on an aching ankle while I am trying to recover from back surgery - honestly, the stars must be lined up for me.

Whew, it does take it out of me to concentrate and type , I'll sign off now -